The signing of a new striker can be an exciting time for the club and its fans, and Peterborough United fans should be especially excited with their latest acquisition Kabongo Tshimanga, who joins the club from National League outfit Chesterfield. Posh have a history of bringing players in from non-league, and Tshimanga is one who was likely on the radar of several clubs.
Tshimanga joins the EFL League One club on loan until the end of the season initially, with an obligation to join permanently at the end of the campaign. While an injury at the back end of last season hampered Tshimanga’s form and development somewhat, he has still registered seven goals in 17 games in the National League this season, for a side who are battling it out for promotion back to the EFL.
This data analysis will take a look at the statistics of Tshimanga from this season and last as we look to get a wider view of his goalscoring prowess. This will involve an analysis of his data against current Posh strikers since the start of last season, with the aim of getting an idea of how successful he might be within Peterborough’s tactics. The other four players involved in this analysis are Jonson Clarke-Harris, Ricky-Jade Jones, Ephron Mason-Clark, and Jack Marriott. Marriott has recently left the club to join former Celtic captain Scott Browns Fleetwood on loan but is still involved as he featured both this season and last season for Darren Ferguson’s side.
Academy product Ricky-Jade Jones is included despite his limited game time last campaign – he also plays as a winger on occasion: it is important to keep these factors in mind when analysing the data. It is also important to consider that Tshimanga’s data comes from the National League level for a side who have been in fairly good form, while the data of the Posh strikers comes from a team who were relegated from the EFL Championship last term and are fighting to get promoted back this season. Of course, the analysis will be centred around Tshimanga’s performance in comparison to the other strikers in selected areas.
Good strikers score goals
It goes without saying that strikers are still judged on their goalscoring abilities first and foremost, regardless of the type of role they are undertaking. Scoring regularly is obviously the priority, but strikers like to get as many shots on goal as possible, as well as create chances for their teammates as well. In this first segment of data analysis, we will look at exactly this area.
If you Peterborough fans weren’t that excited about your newest addition to the strike force before, you probably are now. Tshimanga leads the way in both goals scored and goals per 90, which indicates a healthy consistency when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net. The now former Chesterfield forward has bagged 31 league goals since the start of 21/22, while Clark-Harris is just behind on 28 goals – an impressive feat considering his side were relegated last season.
Mason-Clark, a current England C international who can play on the wing as well as a centre forward, has lent his hand to the goalscoring, with the 23-year-old scoring 12 times, giving him an average of 0.22 goals per 90. It is possible that he is featured more prominently on the wing from now on as long as Clarke-Harris and Tshimanga are both fit and firing.
